Big Boy!

Yesterday was momentous! It was the first time Oliver sat on the potty. He has a little potty

that he's sat on plenty of times, but never on the big one.

He chose Readers Digest (of course) to keep him busy. He didn't actually accomplish anything, but it was fun to try.

House Prayer

Ok,

  I'm writing this with a very heavy, and confused heart. Mark and I are asking for major prayer covering over our house, and the next steps we need to take next.

For those of you who are unaware, we got into my Jeep last weekend (which was at the house over night) to find that the radio had been stolen. Now this is kind of comical because the radio didn't work without a remote, and they didn't get the remote:). Also, they passed over my gps, and cell phone which were sitting in the middle console. To be fair I did leave it unlocked in Milwaukee (Lisa, not a word!). Tonight, after I asked Mark to mow our lawn he realized that our Lawn Mower had been stolen as well. With everything else we've been dealing with lately (not meeting our timeline, the bank issues, the poor economy) this is a pretty hard blow. We're really starting to question what God wants us to do at this time.   

I realize this may sound a silly reason to be re-considering a calling/path, but when talked to the police, they pointed out a handful of houses that they've been having issues with, nothing major, but more than Burlington. The crime rate is inevitably higher than we're used to but we just need to know if we're worth it. 

Please just be praying that we can have a clear picture of what we need to do, and how to do it.

God may just want us to be aware that we need a security system, who knows.

Out with Bo

On Tuesday we went out to lunch and the park with Madison and Bo.

Bo is about 1.5 months older than Oliver so they're at just about all the same 

stages developmentally, and they play really nicely together so their mommies can visit.

It was a beautiful afternoon, and a fun visit.

We're looking forward to many more just like it:)

Baby name ideas

In my previous post I mentioned that we asked Oliver what to name the baby.

I realized that we have a solid baby girl name: Aberlin ? Melby, but we don't have 

any ideas for a boy or middle name for a girl.

We'd love to hear your suggestions, keeping in mind that it has to got well with our last 

name.

Send me your answers here and we'll vote for the best.

A new favorite

Oliver is in love with his $5 Kohls dog. While driving the other night we asked him

what he wanted to name his dog. He quickly answered "Qua!"(whatever that means)

Immediately following we asked what he'd like to name the new baby, to which he 

replied "Ma-ba-ba".  We'll consider the suggestion.

Old finds

Oliver recently acquired this slide from his Great Grandma Foght.

He loves it, though he is scared to death to climb it by himself.

Aaron's Birthday, Fishboil and the Packers...

On Aug 22nd Mark's brother Aaron turned __ !

We celebrated by having a fishboil (his favorite) and watching the second Packer's game of the season.

My camera is terrible, so I apologize ahead of time for the poor quality.

If you have never experienced a fishboil, just call the Melby clan. They're well known for having great fishboils.

Oliver in his new chair

All the boys sitting around the fire.
The first to go in the water were the potatoes.

Aaron chose Strawberry shortcake for his dessert, and his boys helped to decorate it:)

After dinner the boys went downstairs to watch the game and the ladies sat upstairs entertaining the babies.

Oliver and Lilly had a great time. Lilly just 

started crawling and can now keep up with

Oliver. They played really well together
 Grandma Becky trying to balance two babies at once.

It was a fun evening, and amazing weather. Happy, happy birthday Aaron!

Come one come all...

Oliver and I spent our lunch-break yesterday and part of the afternoon today at Grams (Mark's Grandma's) rummage sale. She has recently moved into an apartment in Racine and was trying to condense things by selling them.  

With Mark being as sentimental that he is, he had a very hard time seeing things that he had grown up around with a price tag on them. Though we complete understand that it's just "stuff" it's still hard to let go. 

He was the last grandchild to look through things that were special to him, and was able to take them home for our family to make memories with.

Thank you Grams.

If anyone is interested in a bowling ball, or various trinkets (all with a valuable story) head over. The sale will be going on the rest of the day and tomorrow morning.

A new addition

I do not have a face to see, 

or put inside a frame. 

I do not have soft cheeks to kiss; 

I don't yet have a name. 

You can't hold my tiny hands, 

nor whisper in my ear. 

It's still too soon to sing a song, 

or cuddle me so near. 

But all will change come March 10th, 

when they say I'm due. 

I'll be new to this family and 

I can't wait till I meet you. 

All I ask between now and then 

is your patience while I grow. 

I promise I'll be worth the wait, 

because of all the love we'll know. 

So as you're waiting patiently, 

please pray lots of prayers for me. 

I cannot wait to be a part 

of this wonderful family!

A day for ducks

In a recent visit to the park we discovered that ducks like "little puffs"(one of Oliver's snacks).

This was Oliver's first experience with these creatures, and it was very neat. The just swarmed us, and when we got up to leave they started following us until their leader called them and they swiftly jumped into the river.

WI State Fair

Several weeks ago we attended a Brewer's Game, and with the purchase of those tickets we got two free State Fair tickets. 

We decided to go last weekend, even though it was very hot, and muggy. 

Oliver loves cows! He calls any animal that he sees a cow, it doesn't matter the animal's size, or weather or not their land dwelling...it's a "cow".  So... 

...imagine our surprise when we took him through the cattle barn and 

he was making a trumpeting sound and waving his arm like a elephant's trunk.

What a Turkey!

We ate lots of yummy foods like this enormous turkey leg that we could of shared, and countless lemonade shake-ups. 

A very fun afternoon with my two favorite people.

Extended Vacation

We just back (Wednesday) from vacation to Tennessee - I'll be posting those pics soon- Mark decided to take off a few extra days to relax.

We came up to the house yesterday and spent the night (don't tell anyone).

Today we ran some errands in our town and headed over to the Cudahy Library to grab Oliver some books. 

They have an awesome play area. Daddy and Oliver were  building with blocks.

Daddy we love having you home!!!

Funny Man in the morning

Good Luck

Oliver recently started crossing his fingers.  He sort of looks like a trecky.

After passing our Plumbing inspection on Tue, Mark and I were discussing how thankful we were that we passed. Mark looked over at Oliver to see that Oliver was again crossing his fingers. He's our little good-luck charm (though I don't believe in luck).

Cousins, picnics and ice cream

My (2nd) cousin, Arielle, and I took two of her sister's and Oliver to Richmond Illinois. 

First we.....

...had a picnic. (L to R: Oliver, Rachel, and Rebecca)

So Arielle, Rachel, Rebecca and I are 1st Cousins Twice Removed and I think that makes Oliver their 2nd cousin???

There was a very fun little ice cream shop on main st. with an old fashioned soda fountain counter.

What a fund day and good visit with family.

Cheesy Grin!

This is Oliver's new favorite face.

AIRBUS A380

Last night while driving to our house I passed the airport and saw an enormous airplane starting to taxi down the runway. As I drive a little further I realized that traffic on layton was at a standstill.  I quickly called Mark, who at first didn't believe me. Sure enough, it was the Airbus.  It can carry anywhere between 500 - 835 passengers. As it took off you could feel the roar of the jets (although surprisingly quiet) and it kicked up tons of dirt. 

It was so amazing that I cried (to be fair I cry when most jets take off).